Page 6 - CEG Advantage - The Super Rich Stress Test - February 2018

4. If the solutions can be made more powerful with only slight modifications, the best route
is often to stick with the original professionals and have them make the minor changes
needed.
5. There are occasions when the individual or family chooses a professional to conduct a
stress test and that professional is not up to the task. This often comes out clearly in the
process or the results of the stress testing. The only viable course of action is to select
a different professional to conduct the stress testing.

Stress testing for everyone

Although stress tests are commonly used among the Super Rich, they should be a part of
most people’s due diligence process when vetting financial plans, products and services.
Frequently, stress tests uncover flaws in financial plans as well as better ways to achieve
desired outcomes. For those reasons, stress tests will likely benefit a great number of
people—especially business owners and their families, who generally have so much of their
future financial security riding on one asset: their business.

Certainly there is a cost to stress testing estate, asset protection and income tax plans.
That cost will depend greatly on the complexity of the testing involved and the family’s
situation. However, in our experience, a stress test fee can be a whole lot cheaper than the
costs—financially but also emotionally and psychologically—of a plan or solution that is
fundamentally flawed or in conflict with your goals.

If you wonder whether a financial product or service you have—or are considering—will work
the way it is supposed to under various conditions, you might benefit from a stress test.

Our recommendation: If you think this strategy may help you achieve your goals, contact
your financial or legal professional.

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